Introduction

The bibliography provides information on writings dealing with the history of rape, including sexual child abuse, sexual harassment, sexual molestation, child prostitution, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, sexual(ized) violence. The blog informs about calls for papers, forthcoming events and new literature in this field.

Abstract: »The definition of rape in international law is in flux, as the controversy over the differences between a "mechanical" and a "conceptual" definition has shown. This article explores the intersection of three contradictory premises about the narrative testimony of rape that arises from the problem of defining the crime. It explores this intersection through the frames of legal theory, visual theory, and narrative texts, drawing its examples from the Rwandan genocide, where the correlation of narrative testimony to the production of images shaped a rich vein of philosophical inquiry into the nature of witnessing.« [Source: Human Rights Quarterly]

Abstract: »Sexual abuse is considered as a crime against the person all over the world. Despite the age of victims, it could trigger serious physical and psychological consequences, psychoactive substances and drug abuse, reproductive disorders, suicides and even death. The aim of retrospective investigation was to analyze the incidence of sexual assault in the regions of Varna (V), Silistra (S) and Gabrovo (G) in the period 1998-2006. The material used in the study involved the archive records of the Forensic Medicine Wards in the three studied regions. The comparative study employed inquiries and the documental interpretation method. The data of the investigations are filled in questionnaires in Microsoft Excel and compared. In conclusion, we could state that: 1. The female age group, most affected by sexual assault, was that of 14-17 years. 2. Most commonly, the sexual crimes are performed by persons familiar to the victims (50.10%). 3. Among men, the most affected age group was that under 14 years of age.« [Source: Acta Facultatis Medicae Naissensis]

Abstract: »Stressful war experiences can cause posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors. To what extent were the soldiers and young women of World War II affected by PTSD symptoms over the course of their lives? Do these men and women differ in the traumatic experiences and PTSD symptom severity? To investigate these questions 52 male and 20 female Germans aged 81–95 years were recruited through newspaper advertisements and notices and interviewed regarding war experiences and PTSD symptoms. Of the men 2 % and 7 % met the criteria for current and lifetime PTSD diagnoses, respectively, as compared to 10 % and 30 % of the women, respectively. Using multiple linear regression a dose-response relationship between the number of trauma types experienced and PTSD symptom severity could be demonstrated. The slope of the regression curve was steeper for women than for men. When controlling for the number of different traumatic experiences women reported a significantly higher severity of PTSD symptoms than men. It is presumed that this difference in severity of symptoms can be attributed to qualitative differences in the type of traumatic stress factors during the war. The present study provides evidence that even today people continue to be affected by PTSD symptoms due to events which occurred during World War II; therefore, during patient contact with this age group the war experiences specific to each individual need to be considered as potential moderators of symptoms.« [Source: Der Nervenarzt]

Abstract: »Trials against both war crimes and treason were held in the Philippines after the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945. In the former, a universalistic category of crimes were punished, while in the latter, the crime was primarily one of betrayal, and its victim was the nation. In January, 1948 a presidential amnesty was proclaimed by Manuel Roxas for all those accused of wartime treason except for military and police collaborators, spies, informers, or those accused of violent crimes. Most of the treason cases not covered by this amnesty were against those guilty of some of the same atrocities being treated as war crimes in trials against the Japanese. This article explores the process of trying atrocities and sexual violence of mostly military and constabulary collaborators in the postwar Philippines under its law of treason and argues that, if war crimes trials of the early postwar fell short in many ways, punishing the brutality of war as betrayal was a deeply troubled alternative.« [Source: Cadmus]

Description:
»Sexuality is inevitably closely linked with wellbeing, individual identity and the very beginning of life. In premodern cultures sexual desires were perceived, described and encountered in a variety of ways. The praise concerning procreation, as well as sexual acts within the frames of marital institutions and between the ones in love was very much present in the surviving sources. At the same time, sexual desires belonged to the most regulated areas of human behavior bridled by religious and legal authorities.
Recently, the scholarly field of the history of sexuality has laid a special emphasis on the multiple varieties in understanding past sexual desires in a particular time and place. We will focus on exploring the localities and temporalities of sexuality, the visibility and invisibility of sexual desires, as well as the intersections of sexuality and moral offences in late medieval and early modern societies (13th–18th centuries).«

Abstract: »This article offers a feminist sociological analysis of Otilia’s incestuous relationship with her father—a Catholic priest. This case study is one in a series of Mexican women’s narratives of incestuous relationships that reveal the sexual objectification of girls and women within the context of the family and its roots in a colonial history shaped by race, class, and gender inequalities. In this case study I also explore the complex origins of double standards of sexual morality within the Catholic Church: the Church desexualizes priests by insisting on celibacy, but perpetrators of incest, who are also priests, may benefit from the historical construction of the family that positions children as vulnerable, dehumanized, and objectified servants of the father.« [Source: Sexualities]

Description: »Articles are invited for an essay collection on Smallville. This collection will specifically focus on issues of gender, sex, and power in this retelling and expansion of the Superman universe(s).«

Description: »This panel seeks to investigate how gender affects not only the traumatic experience itself, but also the narration of traumatic experience, by women writing about war. The “writing” may take the form of memoir, fiction, poetry, film, or other, more experimental modes of narration, such as blogging. The goal of this panel is to bring together a diverse range of material and perspectives that will move the discussion of gender and trauma beyond a simple comparison of men’s and women’s trauma, and into the gendered politics of writing itself.«

Abstract: »In post apartheid South Africa insecurity and rape of women are serious problems. Some Whites consider blacks as chief culprits and their media cover cases of black peril sensationally. However, the essay suggests that rape is an interracial problem and has nothing to do with colour; Moreover, the essay suggests that the sexualisation of women and insecurity is rooted in the colonization era.« [Source: Studies in Literature and Language]

Author: Jodi Death
Title: Identity, Forgiveness and Power in the Management of Child Sexual Abuse by Personnel in Christian Institutions
Subtitle: -
Journal: International Journal for Crime and Justice
Volume: 2
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
Pages: 82-97
ISSN: 2201–2966
Language: English
Full Text: International Journal for Crime and Justice[Free Access]

Abstract: »The ongoing crises of child sexual abuse by Christian institutions leaders across the Anglophone world continue to attract public attention and public inquiries. The pervasiveness of this issue lends credence to the argument that the prevailing ethos functioning within some Christian Institutions is one which exercises influence to repeatedly mismanage allegations of child sexual abuse by Church leaders. This work draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 Personnel in Christian Institutions (PICIs) in Australia who were identified as being pro-active in their approach to addressing child sexual abuse by PICIs. From these data, themes of power and forgiveness are explored through a Foucaultian conceptualising of pastoral power and ‘truth’ construction. Forgiveness is viewed as a discourse which can have the power effect of either silencing or empowering victim/survivors. The study concludes that individual PICIs’ understandings of the role of power in their praxis influences outcomes from the deployment of forgiveness.« [Source: International Journal for Crime and Justice]

Author: Lauren Novelli
Title: Hemingway, Trauma, and Power
Subtitle: -
Thesis: Research Thesis, Ohio State University
Year: April 2013
Pages: 27pp.
Language: English
Full Text: Knowledge Bank of the Ohio State University Libraries and the Office of the Chief Information Officer [Free Access]

Abstract: »This thesis explores the topic of Hemingway and his female characters as feminist. Examining For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, and The Garden of Eden, it is clear these women have survived a trauma that makes them feminist. Many believe Ernest Hemingway to be a misogynist in his writings, and through this thesis I worked to rethink the idea of Hemingway's female characters as weak.« [Source: Knowledge Bank]

Abstract: »The relations between China and Japan are strained and continue to foster negative emotions partly because of China’s grievances about Japan’s actions during World War II and the allegedly false historiographical accounts found in Japanese history textbooks. This study will utilize historical analysis of the events leading up to the Nanjing Massacre in December of 1937, examine the Japanese Ministry of Education’s (MEXT) critical and contentious role in the selection of textbooks, used for primary and secondary schools, and will also juxtapose the controversial 2001 Atarashii rekishi kyōkasho with current Japanese history textbooks. The study will also include a syntactical analysis of key terms through my own original translations of multiple Japanese history textbooks, which are currently used in the Japanese school curriculum, to reveal that the textbook publishers, MEXT, and regulation councils are involved in adjusting the content causing the information to reveal various degrees of whitewashing.« [Source: FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations]

Abstract:
»Child sexual abuse (CSA) in Christian Institutions continues to be of serious concern in public, criminal justice and institutional discourse. This study was conducted in conjunction with Project Kidsafe Foundation and sought the perspectives of Australian survivors of CSA by Personnel in Christian Institutions (PICIs). In total, 81 individual survivors responded to an online survey which asked them a range of questions about their current and childhood life circumstance; the nature, extent and location of abuse; grooming strategies utilised by perpetrators; their experiences of disclosure; and outcomes of official reporting to both criminal justice agencies and also official processes Christian institutions. Survey participants were given the option to further participate in a qualitative interview with the principal researcher. These interviews are not considered within this report. In summary, survey data examined here indicate that:
• Instances of abuse included a range of offences from touching outside of clothing to serious penetrative offences.
• The onset of abuse occurred at a young age: between 6 and 10 years for most female participants, and 11 and 13 years for male participants.
• In the majority of cases the abuse ceased because of actions by survivors, not by adults within families or the Christian institution.
• Participants waited significant time before disclosing their abuse, with many waiting 20 years or more.
• Where survivors disclosed to family members or PICIs, they were often met with disbelief and unhelpful responses aimed at minimising the harm.
• Where an official report was made, it was most often made to police. In these cases 53% resulted in an official investigations.
• The primary reasons for reporting were to protect others from the perpetrator and make the Christian institution accountable to an external agency.
• Where reports to Christian institutions were made, most survivors were dissatisfied with outcomes, and a smaller majority was extremely dissatisfied.
This report reflects the long-held understanding that responding to CSA is a complex and difficult task. If effective and meaningful responses are not made, however, trauma to the survivor is most often compounded and recovery delayed. This report demonstrates the need for further independent analysis and oversight of responses made to CSA by both criminal justice, religious and social institutions. Meaningful change will only be accessible, however, if family, community and institutional environments are safe places for survivors to disclose their experiences of abuse and begin to seek ways of healing. There is much to be learnt from survivors that have already made this journey.« [Source: QUT ePrints]

Description: »Stephen Sackur talks to Zainab Bangura, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict who says that for too long wars have been waged on the bodies of women. Over the past two decades the list of war torn countries where women and children have been subjected to systematic rape and sexual abuse has grown shamefully long, from Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Syria. HARDtalk asks - how can the most vulnerable be protected?«

Conference: Third International Law Conference on Women and Children
Place: Lagos, Nigeria
Date: July 18–19, 2013
Submission deadline for abstracts: June 10, 2013

Description:
»In response to global concern about the trafficking of women and children, the Third International Law Conference on Women and Children offers an interactive platform for conversations that will facilitate new and comprehensive ways of addressing human trafficking.
Building on the diverse background of participants, the conference hopes to shape the direction of research, policy making, legal frameworks, interventions and programmes that will raise public awareness about human trafficking and the experiences of victims of human trafficking, reinforce the quest for social justice and promote the wellbeing of women and children.
The conference organisers therefore, invite researchers, legal professionals, policy makers, students, and other stakeholders to contribute research, policy, or community-based papers that will promote discussions on the global trafficking of women and children in the 21st century.«

May 4, 2013

Conference: 24th Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association
Place: Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Date: November 7-9, 2013
Submission deadline for proposals: June 14, 2013

Description: »War has been one of the few constants in human history, waged by nations, tribes, and other factions for numerous reasons—some valid and noble, some questionable. This area will feature papers that explore the ways that wars—declared and undeclared, just and unjust, sacred and profane, fictional and "real"—have impacted the social, economic, technological, ideological, and other aspects of culture.«

Abstract: »How has post-war Japanese theatre grappled with Japanese responsibility for its imperialistic/militaristic past in Asia, and for institutionalized discrimination against resident minorities? Using the tools of guilt, nostalgia, and the valorization of victimhood that are embedded in the idea of hōgan biiki (sympathy for the loser/victims), Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei here analyzes Japan's often contradictory, flip-flopping self-image as both victimizer and victim in relation to Korea and resident Koreans. Looking at both mainstream and alternative performances, her article suggests that despite attempts to discuss these issues openly, most theatre artists actually present images that soften or displace responsibility for the past. Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei is Professor Emerita of Theatre at UCLA, and was recently a Research Fellow at the Institute for Interweaving Performance Cultures, Freie Universität, Berlin. An authority on post-war Japanese and cross-cultural performance, she is also a translator, director, and award-winning playwright. Her books include Unspeakable Acts: the Avant-Garde Theatre of Terayama Shuji and Postwar Japan and the co-authored Theatre Histories: an Introduction. She has published numerous articles and presented papers and keynotes throughout the world. Professor Sorgenfrei is Associate Editor of Asian Theatre Journal and Editor of the Association for Asian Performance Newsletter.« [Source: New Theatre Quarterly]